gentrify

verb

gen·​tri·​fy ˈjen-trə-ˌfī How to pronounce gentrify (audio)
gentrified; gentrifying

transitive verb

: to attempt or accomplish the gentrification of
gentrified a run-down section of the city
gentrifier noun

Examples of gentrify in a Sentence

As the neighborhood became gentrified, the people who had lived there for many years could no longer afford it.
Recent Examples on the Web
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By some standards, Mr. Ashkenazy’s exclusive hotel complex, Elsewhere — built on 39 hilltop acres of what was once a vacation ranch for the Howard Johnson family — could be seen as a harbinger of gentrifying forces. Guy Trebay, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025 Zoom in: Here are some strategies that Builders of Hope says can help … Voucher programs in gentrifying neighborhoods to cover the gap between market-rate rents and what low-income renters can afford to pay. Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi, Axios, 9 Dec. 2024 Internet tabloids made Ferrell into an avatar of the depravity of millennial excess in gentrifying Brooklyn. Amanda Hess, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024 According to a news release, the university will study the impact of displacement and relocation from gentrifying neighborhoods in the greater Nashville region. Austin Hornbostel, The Tennessean, 6 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gentrify 

Word History

Etymology

gentry + -ify (or as back-formation from gentrification)

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of gentrify was in 1972

Dictionary Entries Near gentrify

Cite this Entry

“Gentrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gentrify. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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